Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Hadrien
Summary: *Alternate Timeline* No longer bound by the walls of her tower, her only prison now is duty and obligation. Three months away from her wedding, she meets Corona's most nefarious outlaw. "His ring is on your finger, but my heart is in your hands."
1. Chapter 1

The sharp echo of heels could be heard as their precession marched down the long corridor of the castle prison. It was the last stop of the day on what took at least two hours longer than expected. She had only been in this strange new world for a mere three weeks, even though that life seemed like only a dream to her now. Just recently she had been informed that she was in fact the fabled lost princess, and that the only mother she had ever known had actually abducted her as a baby. Thomas, the son of a nobleman, had found her alone, waiting for Gothel to return from a trip to find parsnips for her favourite soup. He was just setting out on a hunting trip with his father when he stumbled upon her clearing, and his prize for finding the kingdom's most precious jewel was a royal engagement. Rapunzel's stomach leapt into her throat as she recalled all these events. The wedding was less than three months away. So much had changed, her entire life was that tower. And suddenly she was a princess, following in fascination as her real flesh-and- blood father showed her around her kingdom. There was so much information, so much going on and such a small amount of time in which to digest it. It was enough to make her head spin.

"And this," the King said, proudly presenting the dank miserable insides of the building with a fluid arm gesture, "this is where we lock up all of Corona's finest delinquents." She began to follow closer in his footsteps than she had been, because frankly anyone of these brutes whistling and cat-calling her direction could easily reach out and grab her if they wanted. The warden approached the King and without acknowledging her presence began spilling off his weekly report of the latest additions to the already over crowded facility.

Rapunzel remained at the King's side, glancing nervously from one cell to another, trying not to let her gaze pause too long on any one thing. One rather ghastly looking man was picking his nose while his cellmate stood in the corner with his hand down his pants. She quickly looked away, not eager to find out exactly what he was doing. Quite a few of the men were glaring at her in a way that made her cross her arms over her chest protectively in some small attempt at covering her body. Each one of them made her feel uncomfortable in new and unique ways. It was then that she noticed a cell to her immediate left that at first appeared to be empty. After letting her eyes adjust to the darker area of the room, she could see that there was a lone inmate inside, sitting on the ground with his back turned toward her. He was the only one that didn't seem to be paying their presence any mind.

Curious, Rapunzel shifted her weight and edged closer to the mysterious young man. She tried to catch a better view of his face that was being illuminated by the last rays of the setting sun coming from the singular barred window. Her shoe scraped against the stone floor which made him look in her direction instinctively. Rapunzel was immediately struck by just how "non-criminal" this man looked. She could make out the finer points of his face quite well despite the amount of light she was working with. He was looking directly at her, and not in the way the other men had looked at her. His profile was smaller and softer, his face calm and steady. He had a smooth, unmarked complexion and despite the little patch of hair that covered his chin he was clean shaven. His nose was long and straight, and didn't look at all like it had been broken in a bar fight. His clothes were remarkably tidy and free of any bloodstains Rapunzel might have suspected a criminal should have on him. He was not at all like the rest of the rather motley looking crew that inhabited this dungeon. This man didn't seem at all to be the type of person to commit a crime and land himself in jail. His eyebrow twitched up into a question, and that's when she realized she was staring.

"Can I help you?"

Rapunzel leaned in closer and proposed her question in a whisper. "What did you do?"

"…Excuse me?"

"Why are you here?"

She could see him pause at this and lean back against the stone wall, a small smile forming on his lips as he looked as if he debated whether or not to respond. The look of wide-eyed anticipation on her face said she wasn't going anywhere until she had her answer.

The young man sighed. "I checked my neighbors mail. Did you know that's a federal offense?"

There was something behind those honey brown eyes and the casual smirk that went with them that intrigued her, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

A firm hand suddenly gripped Rapunzel's shoulder. "I believe we're all done here." The King began ushering her toward the exit when the Captain of the Guard joined them.

"Thank you for stopping by, your Majesties."

He was already bowing low and opening one of the heavy doors to give them leave. She looked back in the direction of the mystery inmate in an effort to see him one last time.

"If I may, your Highness," the Captain paused, waiting until he had her full attention, "…let me advise you to not let that one entertain you with his lies."

Rapunzel glanced over at the accused, eyebrows raised slightly in wonderment. "What was his crime?" she asked softly.

"Among countless other trespasses, his latest escapade was the theft of the Lost Princess'… _your _crown. We have been searching for him for years and though he remained elusive, we finally brought him in. Calls himself Flynn Rider. Can you imagine? Taking the name from a children's book. Nothing is safe from his thievery."

Rapunzel had to suppress a giggle when she saw the one called Flynn blow a kiss to the Captain in response.

As they made their way out into the courtyard, the warden caught up with them, this time with a stack of papers in hand.

"My apologies, your Majesty, but a moment of your time is required to approve the last of the executions." He pointed to at least three places on each page for the King to sign, while Rapunzel patiently stroked a long lock of her golden hair.

Narrowing her eyes, she readied her question, but afraid she already knew the answer.

"Who's being sentenced to death?"

The King didn't look away from his task, answering her matter of factly as he continued to shuffle through the pages.

"All twenty-two men on the hall we just passed through, my dear."


	2. Chapter 2

Rapunzel faced her own reflection as she sat deep in thought, letting her maids attend to their arduous nightly task. She watched almost mesmerized as the little wisps of steam danced and twirled away from her cup of tea. She hadn't yet touched it, and not because it was too hot. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake him from her mind, she couldn't stop thinking about those honey brown eyes and the strange warmth and secrets behind them. He was a felon, a repeat offender with a seemingly long list of trespasses, convicted and now rightfully being sentenced to death for his crimes. So why did this bother her so much?

Her unnaturally long blonde tresses flowed down her back and cascaded across the room like a giant golden tapestry, spilling across the laps of her attendants, who every evening before bed carefully brushed their Princess' hair and wrapped it into a protective braid. Rapunzel enjoyed the company and greatly appreciated the help, as before she would have to do all this herself.

"Lysette," Rapunzel began, addressing the girl closest to her right with the fiery red curls that fell just past her shoulders, "What do you know about the prisons?"

Continuing her brushing, Lysette separated out a larger section and set to working out the tangles. "Our prisons, your Highness? Well, they're pretty relentless around here. Corona has a kind of 'hang first, ask questions later' policy. Crime in any form is not tolerated, my lady."

Rapunzel bit her lip and nodded, hesitant to ask her next question but entirely too curious not to.

"Do you know anything about the one called Flynn?"

Lysette paused her brush midstroke, looking up into the vanity mirror to see her mistress' face.

"...Flynn Rider?" she asked, her face turning almost as red as her hair. "Oh, my lady, Flynn is a notorious thief, wanted for all sorts of heinous and unsavory deeds."

"What all has he done?" It couldn't be that bad, right?

The girl scoffed, running her fingers through the silky strands she'd just finished. "What _hasn't _he done? You name it, he's stolen it. He's been a thorn in the Kingdom's side for years. So much so that even the Captain of the Guard has a personal vendetta against him. He's pretty much made it his life's mission to see him hang." Leaning in close to Rapunzel's ear, Lysette dropped to a hushed tone, "I heard that he slept with the Captain's wife."

"I heard that one time he fought off a hundred of the King's best guards with nothing but his boot," an excited voice chimed.

"I heard that he narrowly escaped capture by wrangling a shark and riding it all the way from the island to the mainland," yet another girl added.

"Well you know how they finally caught him, right? I heard they got a tip that he was in some brothel, and when they found him they dragged him out, naked as the day he was born."

The petite blonde named Marris sighed. "Isn't he wonderful?"

"Absolutely dreamy," the short-haired brunette agreed.

"I've seen him," quipped the raven haired maid idly combing out the ends. Everyone promptly stopped what they were doing and turned to gape at her in disbelief. "Well," she admitted, "I haven't actually _seen _him, but his posters are pretty handsome."

"Anna said she ran into him once, outside the stables." Marris began, vigorously working her brush through a rather stubborn kink. "She turns the corner and there he was, plain as the nose on your face. He invited her into one of the stalls, and of course she followed him. Said she couldn't sit down for a week!"

This sent all the girls into a riotous fit of giggles. Rapunzel just wrinkled up her nose in confusion.

Long after she had dismissed them for the night, Rapunzel lay in bed, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling. The room was silent save for the soft purr of Pascal who lay snuggled up beside her, already fast asleep. She smiled, running a finger lightly across his back._ The arch of his brow, clear amber eyes. _ He was obviously in prison for good reasons. But why would someone so young just throw their life away like that? _A flash of teeth, the angle of his jaw._ She didn't understand. He just didn't seem like that kind of person. Maybe they had him mixed up with someone else? _Broad shoulders, the curve of his back. _Her stomach was turning in knots but she couldn't remember eating anything especially upsetting. Pascal twitched and rolled onto his back, and Rapunzel absently began rubbing his belly.

Her eyelids were beginning to grow heavy even though her mind was still racing. Something was pulling at her, something that needed to know more. How could someone captivate you with just one look? Instantly she bolted upright, struck with a sudden epiphany, and consequently flung Pascal onto the cold floor. Pleased with her plan that would surely satisfy her burning curiousity, she sheepishly plucked her friend up and whispered a quick apology. She lay awake for a few more moments, silently working out the finer details of her plot. Finally she smiled to herself. "Goodnight, Pascal." A little snore was her only reply.


	3. Chapter 3

There were two guards posted at the door when she arrived, but they had let her pass easily enough. Her heels clicked on the stone as she continued down the long hall with one thing on her mind. She still wasn't entirely used to the idea of wearing proper shoes yet, and honestly they bothered her more than they probably should. This pair she found especially annoying.

She approached the end of the hall where the Warden sat at his desk, signing papers. Pulling out the chair at the opposite side, she plopped herself down as gracefully as she could.

The Warden paused but didn't look up from his work, and a wrinkle formed at the corner of his mouth when he smiled. "I don't believe this is a very good place for a Princess to be walking around by herself."

"What do I have to do to talk to a prisoner?"

"Be the Warden or the King," he laughed to himself. "But what would her Highness be wanting with the likes of these?"

Rapunzel wrung her hands tightly together. This had to work. It was probably the only chance she would have of seeing him again. That is, without a noose around his neck. "I have a few questions that I'd like answered."

"With all due respect, your Highness, I'm not sure that would be the best idea. These are all convicted, dangerous men. Who is it that you'd like to be speaking with?"

"Flynn Rider." She blurted, the name falling out of her mouth before she had a chance to think. He finally looked up at her, meeting her hopeful green eyes with his own cloudy blue ones. His lips were slightly downturned, and the deep lines in his face gave him a harsh look, a face she assumed was the only kind someone in his line of work would have. But his gaze was soft, and he peered at her now more with genuine curiosity than anything. "Flynn?" he asked in an almost amused tone.

Smiling, she nodded. "I'm pretty sure he's harmless."

"None of the men in here are harmless." A bit of the warmth had gone out of his voice. He sighed and shuffled some papers, lifting and stacking them into a neat pile to his right. "But who am I to question the Princess?"

The room they placed her in to wait was a small one. No windows, two chairs, a table and only one barred door. A few sconces were lit, enough to see the stone walls surrounding her. It was cold in here, and she immediately regretted her choice of dress for the day. Short sleeved, low cut back, thin silk. Her hair was wrapped into her usual thick braid that left the back of her neck exposed to the breeze. Suddenly she was thankful for her terribly uncomfortable shoes that at least kept her feet warm.

Keys rattled in a rusty lock and the door flung open. She watched as he was escorted in, a guard on either side of him. He grunted as they roughly sat him down in the chair across from her, and it was then that she noticed his hands were chained together behind his back. She also noticed that he was sporting a fetching split lip.

The two guards who brought him in were standing right outside the door, presumably to listen in and prevent any potential ruffian misconduct.

"Your lip... what happened?"

Flynn smirked. "I'm very popular around here, as you can clearly see." He turned his head and spat a bloody smear onto the floor. "Why do you want to torture me? What did I ever do to you?"

"Well, you stole my crown."

He opened his mouth as if to say something but the words seemed to disappear on his lips. A lift of his eyebrow and the look of confusion was replaced with one of dawning realization.

"I'm sorry, what?" This caused Flynn to do a double take. He stopped and studied her, taking her in. Sure, she did kind of resemble the mosaic of the Princess he had seen a thousand times before. The blonde hair, the green eyes, the milky skin, the pouty lips. He supposed she might have grown into this little waif of a girl that sat before him, staring at his face intently. And he had heard a few of the guards by his cell say something about her supposed return a few weeks ago. But the prisons were usually the last place that important information got around to, so how was he to be sure of anything?

"So what if I did. You got it back, didn't you?" Pleased with himself, he leaned back in his chair, the chains that bound his hands clinking together.

Rapunzel shrugged, pulling a large book out from the bag she had brought with her. He narrowed his eyes; even in the dim light he could make out the words on the spine. _Dr. Webber's Guide to the Criminal Mind._ Flynn scoffed. "You can't be serious."

"I'm perfectly serious," she said, flipping through the pages. "I don't believe for a moment that you're as bad as people make you out to be. And I'm going to prove it."

A smirk spread across his face. "Babe, you don't know what I've done."

"Well, why don't you tell me?" she inquired, eyes still glued to the book in her hands.

"I don't have to tell you anything. Besides, has my reputation not preceded me? I find that it usually does."

This made Rapunzel look up at him, momentarily pausing in her task. Her nose crinkled up as she thought. "I've heard a few things here and there. But not much. Aside from my crown, that is."

Flynn sighed. It was obvious he wasn't going anywhere until she had some answers. Might as well have a little fun with her. Besides, she did look pretty cute with her face all scrunched up like that. "Let's see. I suppose you could say that my biggest crime would be having this flawless physique and handsome face. It should be outlawed. I mean, really, look at me." He made a gesture with his shoulders, inviting her to examine his body.

And examine she did. The little details made themselves clear now that he was presented before her, instead of facing away from her and slumped against a wall. She could drink him in fully and completely. The clean, smooth face from yesterday was still the same, although one side of his lip was bleeding. The little patch of hair on his chin and the collar beneath it were stained with drops of red. The teal vest he wore over the white undershirt was riding up a bit, exposing his hip bone and a sliver of abdomen.

He watched as her eyes passed over his crotch and hovered there. "It's okay to stare. Don't fight it. It's a natural reaction."

When she blinked and looked up toward his face, she met a broad smile. She wasn't entirely sure why she should be embarrassed but she felt herself growing warm.

"Seriously, why are you here?" Willing the butterflies in her lower abdomen to halt their fluttering, she tried her best to keep her focus on his face.

"You really want to know?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. When that was met with an enthusiastic nod, he relented. "Alright, alright. Well, princess, let's just say that sometimes when you live in a shitty society you do some equally shitty things." He looked to her with a self-righteous nod, expecting a sign of acknowledgement. But she looked at him now with nothing more than confusion. "I didn't have the best childhood… I don't know. Maybe I fell into the wrong crowd. I had to steal. A lot. Just to live. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Yep!" Now it was his turn to stare at her in bewilderment. "You are on the road to rehabilitation! Dr. Webber says that when a prisoner can confess his crimes, he is ready to move on to the next step in treatment."

Flynn sighed and dropped his head. He instinctively moved to pinch the bridge of his nose just to realize his hands were still secured behind his back. "I'm an idiot for asking, but what's the next step in your book?"

"Hmm, I can't say yet. First I have to decipher where you lie on the criminal scale, by asking you a few questions."

"Well?" he shrugged. "Go on."

"Okay. Have you ever wanted to stab and or kill one or both of your parents?"

"I have no parents." Rapunzel glanced up from the text. _How awful._

"An old man passes before you and falls to the ground. Do you take everything from his person and leave him for dead? Or do you help him up and send him on his way?"

"Both."

"On a scale of one to ten, one being never, ten being all the time, how often would you say that you set fire to things?"

"Two. And only because I was nine at the time and those mass candelabras were pretty heavy."

"According to Dr. Webber, you've scored very poorly. I'm afraid you're not a very good criminal at all."

"And _your_ conclusions?"

She slammed the book shut. "I think that you're a bit rude, but not so bad. And I think I know of a way to buy you some time. At least until we can think of something else."

Flynn narrowed his eyes. "And what if I said 'no'? What if I said I'm done? That I've pretty much resigned myself to the sweet release of death?"

"I'd say you were lying." She was aware that most people used tact and knew when to back down from an argument with a stranger. But why not tell someone the truth? Why not let them know out right that she knew they were lying? Perhaps next time she came before the Queen she'd hold her tongue but there was no reason to do so now.

"Tell you what. Get back to me by Wednesday, we'll talk more then."

"But your execution is Wednesday!"

"Hmm. So it is."

She smiled. "I'll be back tomorrow." Standing, she smoothed the wrinkles from her dress. "I'm Rapunzel, by the way."

"Flynn," he mumbled as he watched her gather her things. The guards opened the door and let her go, leaving him to his thoughts for a brief moment before they came to take him away.

Just as well, he was tired and clearly hallucinating. When he was casually inspecting her backside as she left the room, he could've sworn he saw a frog poking it's head out of her bag and glaring at him. 


End file.
